


Overcoming

by Jacie



Series: NCIS: Alpha Series [15]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Camping, Horses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-22
Updated: 2012-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:16:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacie/pseuds/Jacie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs takes Tony on a trip.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overcoming

Tony awoke wrapped in the warmth of his lover’s arms, as Gibbs spooned up behind him. He could feel Gibbs nuzzling against his ear and leaned back against Gibbs, enjoying the comfort he provided.

“I have plans for you,” whispered Gibbs, punctuating the statement with a nip to Tony’s earlobe.

Stretching, Tony yawned and rolled over to face Gibbs, reaching to touch him, cupping his chin and earning a kiss to his palm. “I can’t wait.”

“Good!” Gibbs said as he checked the clock. “Since the case load is slow, I’ve taken the liberty of requesting a few days off for us both.”

Facing Gibbs, Tony used his fingertips to trace lazy circles on Gibbs’ bare shoulder. “Really? You have me intrigued, Special Agent Gibbs.”

Giving Tony a gentle slap to his thigh, Gibbs rose from the bed. “Pack your bags, DiNozzo. We have a plane to catch.”

Gibbs has vanished into the bathroom before Tony found his voice. “A plane? Boss? Where are we going?”

Stepping back into the bedroom, Gibbs multitasked by brushing his teeth while lifting his suitcase onto the bed. “Make sure you pack something warm.”

Tony’s heart sank a little. He was hoping for a tropical vacation relaxing on a beach bathed in sunshine, a drink in his hand and a half-naked Gibbs at his side. “You’re taking me somewhere cold?”

“Cold at night, warm during the day. At least warmer during the day than at night.”

Pushing the covers aside, Tony sat at the edge of the bed and stretched again. “You can only take me somewhere cold if you promise to keep me warm.”

“Gear up, DiNozzo!”

It was good to hear the gruffness in Gibbs’ voice again. After months of him keeping Tony at arm’s reach, the close contact was nice. Breaking through the uncomfortable silence and the worried looks at taken time, but things were finally starting to feel the way they had before he had been kidnapped and held against his will.

Over the next few hours, the pair took a cab to the airport, caught their flight, landed and waited for a man to pick them up in an older SUV. It wasn’t even surprising when Tony found out the man was a Marine buddy of Gibbs’ named Cody. They then took a ride over an interstate highway, a few two-lane blacktop roads, then finally onto a wide, gravel road.

Tony had lost track of time as they drove by pastures, wooded areas and snowcapped mountains. They saw cows and horses and several species of birds that flew overhead. As the journey continued, Tony began dozing off as he listened to Gibbs and Cody conversing about their time serving as Marines and the weather. The roughness of the gravel road jolted him awake.

“I get it! You’re taking me to The Middle Of Nowhere. I’ve heard about this place, Gibbs. Nothing like I expected it to be. There seems to be a lot of wide open nothing in The Middle Of Nowhere.”

Gibbs smiled from the front passenger seat as he turned slightly. “We’re not there yet, DiNozzo.”

“Nice one, Boss.”

Eventually they pulled up to a ranch. After getting out of the vehicle, Tony eyed the house, barns and paddocks. There were lots of cows, several horses and a few ranch hands going about their business. 

“What are we doing here? Steaks at the store aren’t fresh enough for you?”

Gibbs and his buddy both chuckled. “No, that’s not it. Follow me.”

Picking up his suitcase, Tony followed Gibbs into one of the barns and repacked his clothing into a duffle bag as he was told. He watched as Cody brought out two horses and a mule, brushed them down, then started saddling them. 

“Good hunting this year,” he mentioned.

Gibbs pulled a rifle out of its fringed sheath, feeling the balance. “I appreciate the loan.”

“Anytime, Gibbs.”

Tony watched as Gibbs and Cody secured the packs onto the mule. Catching sight of an sheathed axe also added to their gear, Tony asked, “And what’s that for? Going after big game?”

Gibbs laughed. “Firewood. Told you it can get cold at night where we’re going.”

“Right, right. We’re not really riding off into the wilderness, are we?”

The other two seemed to find amusement in Tony’s discomfort.

“Mount up, DiNozzo. We have some riding to do before nightfall.”

“Boss? You’re not taking us out into the wilderness, right?”

“Hoping there’s a bar and a posh hotel over the next hill?”

“Is there?”

“No. There’s a whole lot of land, trees and mountains where we’re going.”

“Ah, so it is The Middle Of Nowhere.”

Settling his palm against Tony’s cheek, Gibbs’ eyes sparkled. “National Lands, DiNozzo. Of course, we’ll be so far off the beaten trails we probably won’t see many people.”

“Might come across a couple Park Rangers, backpackers or other people on horses, but Gibbs is right. Only a few people venture out this far.”

“Great.” Tony said, failing to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“Get on the horse, DiNozzo,” demanded Gibbs as he mounted up himself.

As they set out, they rode across pastures, Gibbs making sure they closed any gate they rode through. Once they hit the National Park lands, the pastures gave way to fields and glades where they could still ride side by side. 

Later in the day, they reached the foot of a mountain. Trees became thicker and they were forced to ride single file, with Gibbs riding first, leading the pack mule, followed by Tony.

“So this means I have to stare at your hairy ass all the way up the mountain?”

“I’d let you lead, but you don’t know where we’re going.”

“So what you’re really saying is, you’d like to be staring at my hairy ass all the way up the mountain?”

After another two hours of riding, Gibbs decided on a campsite in the woods at the edge of a small clearing. There was no tent to set up, but the pair still unloaded the packs from the mule and unrolled their borrowed sleeping bags. Tony made sure to lay them so they were touching.

Looking up, he saw an Eagle soaring over head. “He’s not like, circling over a carcass is he?”

Without looking up from the fire he was building, Gibbs replied, “Nope. Just looking for dinner.”

“What do they eat?”

“City folk.”

Tony shivered as he watched the eagle soar out of view. “Glad you’re building a fire. It’s starting to get a bit chilly.”

“Fire isn’t to keep us warm. It’s for cooking dinner.”

“Steak?”

“Nope. Beans.”

“Do you not remember Blazing Saddles?”

“Sure. Around a campfire is the perfect place for eating beans. Aren’t they the magical fruit? The more you eat, the more you toot?”

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’ll be like being in a band, the Has Beans.”

Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re not going to make me eat beans every night we’re here, are you?”

“No. We have some rice, too. Some other stuff. And I can always hunt something.”

“Like what? A deer?”

“Oh, hell no. That would be more meat than we can eat. Might encourage a hungry bear to come down here.”

“But the bear would eat the deer meat and leave us alone. Right?”

“Unless the bear has a hankering for Italian.”

Laughing uncomfortably, Tony responded, “That’s a good one, Boss.”

Carrying over two bowls of warmed beans, Gibbs settled in next to Tony and handed him one of the bowls with a spoon sticking out of it. “Eat. And out here, you can call me Jethro,” he said, kissing Tony on the cheek.

Motioning toward his bowl with his spoon, Tony admitted, “Not bad, Jethro. Not too bad.”

When they bedded down for the night, Gibbs laid one sleeping bag down on the ground and used the other one as a cover. “Coming to bed, Tony? Or were you planning on hitting a few bars tonight.”

“Bed!”

Following Gibbs’ lead, Tony folded his clothing and placed them back into the duffle bag before joining Gibbs between the sleeping bags.

“Warm enough?” Gibbs asked.

“Getting there,” replied Tony as he snuggled in closer.

When Tony awoke, he was alone in the bedding. Rubbing his eyes, he stretched and rolled over, then sat up looking around for Gibbs. The morning air was cool and Tony was naked. Sitting up, he wrapped the top sleeping bag around his body and debated if he really wanted to make a dash to the duffle for something to wear, or if he’d rather try to go back to sleep.

“Nice bed head,” said Gibbs as he returned, bearing an armful of dried branches.

“Morning, Jethro,” Tony said sleepily. “Please tell me we’re not having beans for breakfast.”

“Flap jacks.”

Tony smiled and decided that was worth getting out of bed for. The sight of Tony streaking across the campsite and practically dancing as he dressed in his cold clothes in the chilly morning air brought a smile to Gibbs’ face. 

“It helps if you warm your clothes up inside the sleeping bag before you get dressed,” Gibbs offered as he split the pancakes up between two plates.

“Good tip, one I would have found more helpful just a few minutes earlier.”

Gibbs gave Tony another kiss to the cheek as he handed him one of the plates. “That wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.”

“Maybe not for you.”

“Exactly.”

“Excellent flap jacks, Jethro. So what are the plans for today?”

“Pack up and ride a little further.”

“I have to get back on the horse?”

“I always heard that’s the best way to move on.”

“Yeah, but my ass is sore. And there are more enjoyable ways to get a sore ass.”

“Did you just let something slip about your sexual preferences, Tony?”

“Uh, no. I mean. I could handle a little slap and tickle now and then, but um. Yeah, I’d rather have a sore ass from participating in a lot of sexual activities than from riding a horse up a mountain. There. I said it. Happy?”

Finishing the bite of food in his mouth, Gibbs swallowed before he answered. “Oh yeah, Tony, I’m pretty damn happy right about now. I’ll go saddle the horses, you can clean up the dishes and make sure the fire is out.”

“Lucky me.”

“We could trade. If you’d rather saddle the horses. Have to do it right, though. You won’t want to have your saddle slipping as you're going up and down the mountain.”

“Down? There is a resort around here. I knew it! You’re a sly one.”

“There is no resort.”

“Then why not stay here?”

“We don’t have enough water. We need to move on until we find a suitable campsite closer to running water. No worries, though. All that snow you see, it melts when the sun hits it. The trick is finding a stream that’s running good enough.”

“Good enough for what?”

“Fill a canteen. Little trickles aren’t as good.”

“Bigger is better. Got it, Boss!”

Once they got moving, it only took another three hours for Gibbs to find a place that he liked. Deeply inhaling the mountain air, he swung off the horse and announced, “This is it, DiNozzo.”

Tony didn’t see the same appeal as Gibbs, but was willing to trust his boss’ choice. Especially if it meant he could get off the horse. “Looks perfect.”

“Why?”

Caught off guard, Tony fished for something to say. “Because you picked it?”

“Do you know why I picked it?”

Nothing came to him. “No, not really.”

“Pee downhill, DiNozzo.”

“What?”

“When you’re camping in the mountains, you want to pee downhill from your campsite. Always.”

“Another excellent tip.”

Once the horses and mule were unsaddled and tied up, Gibbs grabbed the rifle. “Go ahead and set up camp, just like we did yesterday. Remember?”

“Of course I remember yesterday. Where are you going?”

“Hunting for dinner.”

“Aren’t you taking one of the horses, or the mule?”

“For what?”

“Carry dinner home.”

“I told you, I’m not hunting deer. Looking for rabbit. I think I can manage to carry a rabbit.”

“Of course you can. I’ll stay right here and set up camp.”

“Don’t forget to gather up dry branches and twigs for a fire. Unless you prefer your rabbit raw.”

It was hours before Gibbs returned. He’d given Tony plenty of time to set up the camp, put a fire together and dig into the food stores for lunch. When Gibbs returned he found Tony napping, so he took his rabbit down to the stream he’d found and gutted it, cut the meat into chunks and saved them in a bowl while he discarded the rest of the remains by tossing them across the stream, several yards from the camp site.

Tony awoke to find Gibbs preparing a rabbit strew over the open fire. “Good job setting up the fire, Tony. Not bad for a city boy.”

Moving across the campsite, Tony squatted down behind Gibbs, wrapping his arms around Gibbs’ waist and resting his chin on Gibbs’ shoulder. “Is that what you brought me out here for? To see if I could build a fire?”

“I had no doubt you could start a fire.”

“Then why?”

Blowing across the ladle, Gibbs cooled the broth of his stew and tasted it. After adding a little more spice, he stirred the pot and tasted the stew again. “I wanted to push through this. I wanted to make sure everything was okay between us. I wanted to make sure we had both overcome whatever demons we had.”

This time, Tony used his hand to turn Gibbs’ chin so they were facing each other. Their eyes met for a minute, each taking in the other, then Tony closed his eyes and leaned forward to kiss Gibbs. Using one hand, Gibbs steadied Tony, then broke the kiss and placed the ladle onto a plate he had on a nearby stone.

Turning his attention back to Tony, he stood, urging Tony onto his feet then embraced him again. As they kissed, Gibbs began pushing them toward the sleeping bags, where Tony had set them up underneath a tree. Once there, they landed in a tangled heap, kissing and fondling each other without fear of interruption. Gibbs threaded his fingers through Tony’s hair, then pulled him in closer.

It wasn’t long before they began shedding their clothing. “What about the stew?” Tony asked.

“Nice thing about stew, the longer it simmers, the better it is.”

“And what about you.”

“I think I’ve simmered long enough.”

 

~~~END~~~  
September 22, 2012


End file.
